Batting

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - One of Tennessee Tech's longest running and
fiercest rivals on the baseball diamond, the Middle Tennessee State
Blue Raiders will visit Cookeville Tuesday for a 3 p.m. contest
against coach Matt Bragga's Golden Eagles. Admission is free.

The Golden Eagles claimed two-of-three games from Niagara over the
weekend, and will bring a 4-3 overall record into the game, which
opens a big week of action for Tech in Bush Stadium at the Averitt
Express Baseball Complex.

Following Tuesday's game, the Golden Eagles will host Bowling
Green State from the Mid-America conference Friday, Saturday and
Sunday.

SCOUTING THE MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS FOR
MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Date

Location

Opponent

Result

Score

Feb. 22

Auburn, Ala.

Auburn

W

2-1

Feb. 23

Auburn, Ala.

Indiana State

W

8-1

Feb. 24

Auburn, Ala.

Charleston

W

4-3

The Blue Raiders rolled to three victories over the weekend at
the Auburn Tournament, including a 2-1 victory over the host
Tigers, one of two one-run victories. MTSU followed that with an
8-1 win over Indiana State and a 4-3 win over College of
Charleston. The wins improved MTSU to 5-2.

This year's Blue Raider squad is led by senior Ryan Ford with a
.393 batting average, with four doubles among his 11 hits. Freshman
Trevor Haggard and senior Michael Adkins are hitting .357, each
counting two doubles among their five hits. Senior Johnny
Thomas is hitting .333 with a team-high seven RBI and one of the
team's three home runs.

Sophomore Keaton Baker (0-0) is slated to pitch for MTSU, making
his first start of the season. He has pitched one inning this year
in relief and has one strikeout. Last year, Baker had one start and
16 appearances and struck out 24 in 24 innings of work. As a true
freshman in 2011, he was off to a solid sart before a season-ending
injury. He had four appearances, all in relief, including three
scoreless innings against Tech with three strikeouts to earn his
first career save.

CATCHING UP WITH TECH

Junior designated hitter Brandon
Thomasson was named Monday as the OVC Player of the Week after
hitting three home runs and driving in eight runs with a .437
average last week. For the year, he's hitting .333 with four home
runs and 10 RBI, and is one of five Golden Eagle regulars hitting
above .300.

Senior left fielder James Abraham
leads Tech with a .462 average as well as a team-high three stolen
bases. Junior second baseman Zach
Zarzour is second on the squad with a .370 aveage in the
leadoff spot. Also above the .300 mark are sophomore shortstop Dylan
Bosheers and senior center fielder Austin
Wulf, both posting .333 marks.

Who will pitch for Tech is still a question mark, after seven
different pitchers took the hill Sunday in an 11-inning win over
Niagara.

THE SERIES vs. MTSU

MTSU leads the all-time series with Tech, 107-63-1, including
two wins a year ago. Tech droped a tough, 3-1 contest in
Murfreesboro early in the year, then let one get away in extra
innings in Cookeville late in the year, 10-7.

In the first meeting, Garrett Baugh pitched six strong innings and
held MTSU to one run, but the Golden Eagles couldn't muster any
offense. Four Blue Raider pitchers held Tech to just four hits in
the 3-1 loss. David Hess was charged with the loss. Austin
Wulf had two of Tech's four hits, including a triple.

In the rematch in Cookeville, Tech had more hits than MTSU and
held a 6-3 lead after seven innings before the Blue Raiders scored
two in the eight and one in the ninth to take it to exta innings.
MTSU then plated four in the top if the 10th. Tech used six
pitchers in the game and Middle Tennessee sent eight different
players to the mound. Zane Morton was charged with the loss for
Tech. The Golden Eagles had 14 hits as Wulf went 3-for-4, giving
him five hits in six trips against Blue Raider pitchers. Zack
Stephens homered for Tech, while MTSU had a pair of home runs among
their 13 hits.